


The Reason Is...

by Ginbean



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:33:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5993380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginbean/pseuds/Ginbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>10 years later, Oikawa has retired from the international court and is coaching at Aoba Jousai. Having settled down in quiet Miyagi to live with his childhood friend and lover, Iwaizumi Hajime, he's ready to spend the rest of his life in dumb, romantic bliss.</p>
<p>For Iwaizumi, however, things are more complicated than that. He has a string of unsolved murders spanning across his district and, he suspects, throughout the country. In an effort to piece it all together, what he finds at its core is something bigger than any one man, forcing him to choose between what's right and what might end up with Oikawa dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Because Everything Has A Beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for taking an interest in this little fic of mine! I've been off the writing scene for some time and am using this to try and get back into the swing of things. Please feel free to leave me your comments or criticisms as I would very much like to know what aspects of my writing work and what parts don't. More than that, I sincerely hope you enjoy this. o/
> 
> As an aside, this is my first time using AO3, so please bear with me as I work out the kinks.

It… fucking… _hurt!_

With an agonized groan that was more an exhale than vocalization, Vaelin halted at last and leaned against the cool brickwork of the building he’d been supporting himself on. Boots scraping cement, he bent over, hand pressed tightly to his side, and let out a single breathless swear before collapsing altogether with only the building wall preventing him from hitting the ground face first completely.

Weeeeell this was fucking _perfect_.

Crumpled and beginning to shake, he dragged his legs up and debated for the umpteenth time just how much longer he could put off making the call. It couldn’t _still_ be bleeding, could it? Peeling away his fingers, his throat gave an involuntary hitch as he _felt_ the blood seep out even further, prompting him to press his hand back into the spot without even properly looking as his head spun, dizzying him.

This… was ridiculous.

“Fuck… fuck, fuck, _fuck_ …” He groaned again, a little louder this time before he shifted, digging into his pocket and dragging out his phone. Flipping it open with a practiced flick of his wrist and ignoring the fact that he was probably getting blood all over it, he held down the number 2 key and waited for speed dial to kick in.

Sousuke picked up on the third ring.

“What’s up?”

“I need a pickup, two blocks West from Sendai Stadium.” He said immediately, foregoing a greeting as his eyes slid to half mast. In a way, the sensation of cold cement underneath his cheek was starting to feel nice and that was worrying.

“God, I can be there in 10. Are you in danger?”

“No, I took care of it.” He finished before snapping his phone shut and closing his eyes completely. Belatedly, he remembered to slide the GPS switch on his phone on before letting the cold lull him into a semi-conscious state. An unreasonably careless and dangerous move, but one he just couldn’t be fucked to give a damn about at this moment. He was _exhausted_. There wasn’t a bone in his body that didn’t hurt or a nerve under his skin that wasn’t humming with painful sensitivity.

He only knew he’d drifted off when, about 12 minutes later, a palm was abruptly connecting with his cheek- slapping him into wakefulness. In a bout of impressive reflexes, his hand whipped upward, knife already in his grip as he stabbed randomly at the person shaking him, only to have the knife deflected and slapped into the ground.

“Vae-!” His attacker snapped, grabbing his wrist and shining an _obnoxious as hell_ light into his eyes. Gritting his teeth against the pain and waiting for his eyes to adjust, his gaze sought out his assaulter’s face… before immediately relaxing, tension flowing out of his shoulders as he slumped in that grip.

“The hell you doing slapping me…?” He grunted, forcing his eyes up and tilting his head away to avoid being directly blinded by the flashlight clipped around Sousuke’s ear.

“Making sure you’re alive.” Sousuke shot back, unrepentant as he propped him up against the wall and immediately went for the first-aid kid he’d dumped at their feet. “What the _fuck_ happened to you?”

“There was a C-class.” Vaelin murmured, head slipping forward as he watched his brother rip open his vest and shirt with something that could only be called depressing familiarity. They really did do this too many times. As the shredded bits of fabric fell away to reveal the injury- a large, oozing gash about 8 or 9 inches wide, Sousuke hissed angrily before applying the padding. “I took care of it.”

“Looks like it damn well took care of _you_ .” Sousuke snapped, fingers working quickly to place the gauze before going for the bandage. He was a little rougher than usual, fingers shaking from the shock of finding his brother crumpled on the ground, heaped like so much trash. The fact that Vaelin wasn’t even bitching about that made him even more worried. As he finished wrapping Vaelin up, tying it with a quick, efficient knot, he glanced back up- relieved to see Vaelin was watching him. Dazedly, perhaps, but definitely trying to focus. “How long were you at it that you’re _this_ bad?”

“It’s fine.”

“Vae.” Sousuke’s voice took on a warning note, anger palpable as he shoved everything back into the bag and then slid the slender male’s arm over his shoulder, lifting him upright almost insultingly easy. Wincing as his muscles protested the change in position, Vaelin only hesitated a moment before leaning completely against the solidity that was his adopted brother. The bastard was warmer anyway.

“... 2 hours.”

“ _Fucking_ shit, Vae. I’ve told you to call me if it gets bad.” Sousuke hissed, sympathy and concern in his voice as he slid his brother into the passenger seat before tossing the bag in the back.

“I told you, I took care of it.” The youth muttered before leaning back and exhaling. With a frustrated sound, something between a snarl and a swear, Sousuke shut the door and got into the driver’s side. Once they were in and the doors were locked, he rolled up the sleeve on his non-dominant arm and slid a knife out from his boot. Vaelin, eyes only half-open at the time, stiffened with a glare almost immediately. “No.”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

“I ate already.”

“Which is exactly why you’re bleeding into the upholstery? I’m not an idiot.”

“You have a game tomorrow.”

“I have a brother dying _right now_.” Sousuke finished, slipping the knife across the center of his palm and holding it out. Even in the darkness, Vaelin could see the blood welling up from the cut, thick and red. When he still hesitated, Sousuke’s eyes narrowed. “Vae, I will make you drink this one way or another.” There was a note of finality in his voice that promised he was at the end of his self-control.

With a wince, Vaelin finally dipped his head forward, white hair sliding over his eyes as he pressed his lips to the welling cut and drank. One mouthful, two… at the second swallow, he moved to pull his head away and yelped when Sousuke shoved his head back against the headrest, palm still firmly against his mouth and pushing.

“More.” Sousuke snapped, twisted in his seat now to pin the pale youth.

Vaelin swore, voice muffled against the palm and shoved at the brunette with a curse, even as blood smeared his lips and teeth. “You fucking-!”

And he could feel it, could feel the saliva and blood slipping down his throat into his stomach where it churned, a sinking feeling in his gut as he felt warmth slide through his veins. The more he struggled, the more Sousuke pinned him against the passenger’s seat, all but straddling him over the armrest now as he forced more and more of his blood down Vaelin’s throat.

And _only_ when Vaelin had the strength to push him off- _only_ when Sousuke smacked back into the driver’s window so hard that he could feel the air rushing out of his lungs- did he stop, cradling the hand that was now partially riddled with teeth marks.

Breathless and wiping at the smears on his mouth with the back of his hand, Vaelin growled at Sousuke, something sinister in the red of his irises, before he sat back.

“... you asshole.” It was a whisper, hatred in every syllable.

“... Someone has to make sure you stay alive.” Sousuke replied after a moment, getting his breath back as he whipped out his handkerchief and wrapped it around his palm. That complete, he shifted the car out of park and began the drive home. They were silent the rest of the night.


	2. Because We All Have Lies To Tell.

“Yukimura~”

Sousuke, halfway into the gym and mid-yawn, froze with his shoes half on and blinked at the knowing stare his coach was levelling at him. Realizing his mouth was still partially open, he coughed into his hand (which gave a little guilty throb) and stuffed it into the pocket of his jersey.

“Something wrong, coach?”

There were several good things about having an international level volleyball player as a coach and several more for the fact that it was someone like Oikawa Tooru, all of which Sousuke would have happily recollected at any other time. For now, all he could think in his dazed, exhausted state was ‘ _Fuck me, I forgot my coach is a spook.’_

Oikawa, to his credit, did precious little more than smile at Sousuke with his hands on his hips and a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Late night?” He inquired, already knowing the answer as he took in his ace’s haggard appearance and the dark rings under his eyes. Knowing he was hooped, the spiker shrugged helplessly and smiled in what he hoped was a disarming way.

“Yeah, my brother wasn’t feeling good so I stayed up with him.”

“Vae-chan again? Poor kid.” There was a curious note in Oikawa’s voice that made Sousuke glance up at him through his long lashes, a little wary. Whatever it was though, the moment slid by the minute Oikawa patted him on the back and stepped aside. “Let me know if you need to sit out. The last thing we need is for our ace to get hurt.”

“Yeah, will do. Thanks coach.” Sousuke breathed, exhaling in relief as he went to join the rest of the team.

“Wow, you look ugly.” Hirai Keita, third year, setter and Sousuke’s best friend, remarked with the kind of amazed stare that made you want to slap whatever he was holding out of his hands. Sousuke settled for gently yanking on his bangs.

“You should thank me for coming down to your level. How long until Oomisaki shows up?” He asked while shrugging off his jersey and dropping it on the bench.

“40 minutes. We’re practicing serves until the- what did you _do to your hand_?” He winced, wishing not for the first time that being a setter under Oikawa Tooru’s training didn’t mean also picking up his goddamn observational skills. There were only so many keen eyes he could duck when he was this tired.

“I tried to pet a cat yesterday, didn’t work out too well.” He dismissed the concern in Hirai’s eyes by beginning his stretches. “C’mon, don’t make that face. I can still play.”

“This time.” Hirai added, a frown entering his voice to match the one on his lips. “Will you just give up on the cat thing already? They obviously don’t like you at this point.” Hirai muttered, voice lowering as Oikawa and the secondary coach, Yahaba Shigeru, came closer. Setting his water bottle aside, he then joined Sousuke in stretching as the rest of the team gathered around.

Thinking of the temperamental _cat_ that had earned him these marks, he grinned ruefully. “You know me, I don’t know when to quit.”

 

* * *

 

There was something admittedly disconcerting about being in your 20s and thinking ‘ _Kids these days…’_ Granted, he was already in his late-twenties, but still… It definitely put into perspective just how old Oikawa was starting to feel. As the regulars began warming up and the first years moved the ball carts into position, his eyes slid over each and every single one of them, noting the problems that he himself had suffered through in his youth, only to now feel like they were so inconsequential. Time really did make a difference…

Hirai was having relationship troubles again, it had shown in his hesitation to leave his phone alone. Even now his brow was furrowed as his fingers twitched, itching to send a reassuring message to his girlfriend who, in all honestly, was probably started to feel neglected. Oikawa understood that sort of situation best of all. His fault, maybe… as a role-model, Oikawa had always set exacting standards for himself and Hirai could have decided to mimic that. He would have to keep an eye on the kid and try and keep him from blowing out his knee like Oikawa had.

Furutani, a middle blocker, had probably had another fight with his parents about the importance of school against club. He was a little too eager to get onto the court, his stretching a little impatient. His parents, doctors, were stern when it came to things like marks and Furutani had started to show signs of crumbling under the pressure. Volleyball was an escape for him, but only a temporary one. He wondered if he could ask their pinch server, Murai, who was always in the top 15 on exam scores to help him study. Perhaps also drop a subtle hint the next time he saw his parents…

“Thinking?” Yahaba asked him, lip quirked in amusement as he checked his tablet, scrolling over the names of Oomisaki High’s volleyball team.

“Of course~” Oikawa drawled, winking over his shoulder at his kouhai. “Just leave everything to your amazingly capable senpai.”

“Oikawa-san, please don’t do that. It’s creepy and Iwaizumi-san might really hit you.”

“Oi, don’t go tattling to Iwa-chan again!” Oikawa barked, scowling when Yahaba laughed.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked on a slightly more serious note, pausing on the data for Oomisaki’s captain and glancing up at Oikawa, who was smiling in that pleasantly thoughtful way of his.

“Yukimura’s brother… Vae-chan, he’s a registered member of the club, right?” Oikawa remarked, settling his gaze on his third-year ace.

“As far as I know.” Yahaba replied, trying to bring a face to mind. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him though… well, with his health that’s unsurprising. Murai mentioned he only seemed to sign up to make Yukimura happy.”

“Hmm…” Oikawa let out a considerate hum. “What sort of health problems, exactly?”

“Ah… some sort of albinism, I think. Yukimura talked about it causing skin and vision problems, which is probably why he’s never shown up to practice. Why are you asking?”

There was a pause before Oikawa answered, turning to give Yahaba a bright smile. “Well, it would be nice to have two Yukimura-chans, neh?”

“... seriously, don’t smile like that. At your age, it’s just outright creepy…”

“ _You’ve been talking to Iwa-chan too much!!_ ”

 

* * *

 

“Keep that up and your face is going to get stuck that way. Then you’ll never hear the end of it from Oikawa.” Sawamura Daichi remarked, dropping a folder onto Iwaizumi’s desk before taking the seat across from him. Iwaizumi, in the midst of scowling at a report in front of him, looked up and raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from.” He replied casually, reaching for the cup at the edge of his desk and instantly frowning when his fingertips encountered ice cold ceramic. He seriously doubted the contents would be that much better.

Smirking at that, Sawamura leaned forward to look at what had Iwaizumi in such a bad mood while the detective went to get a fresh cup of coffee. When he returned, the other had fully turned the report in order to read it properly, a thoughtful dip in his brow. “The station report?”

“Yeah, the official statement going out is that it was vandalism by a bunch of kids.” Iwaizumi responded, voice perfectly neutral as he took a sip of his coffee while working the kinks out of his back. He _really_ had to get a better chair.

“That’s a lot of damage for a bunch of kids.” Sawamura observed after a moment, equally neutral. When the former-captain glanced up and met his eyes, Iwaizumi couldn’t help the faint look of respect that flickered across his face as he nodded. “You think it’s deeper?” His coworker pushed.

“Gangs, maybe.” He said with a casual note, throwing it out as a possibility but already having a hunch it was something else. Maybe something more.

“Gangs? In Miyagi?” Sawamura wasn’t going to let him get away with that, making him snort.

“Go away, Sawamura. When I’ve got something worth chasing, I’ll let you know.” _That_ made Daichi laugh, hearty but quiet.

“You’ve always got something worth chasing.” The other officer remarked, giving away his high opinion of the other even as he got to his feet. “But I’ll take the hint. Keep me in mind if you need an extra pair of eyes.”

“Aren’t you busy enough with that missing person’s case?”

“Not anymore, the body was found 20 minutes shy of Tokyo last night.” Sawamura replied, face taking on a somber expression as he leaned against the desk and folded his arms. “We’re still investigating but everything’s come to a standstill now that the case has crossed prefectures.”

“Huh…” Iwaizumi took another sip of the coffee, watching his coworker and gauging his expression. “You think it was intentional?”

“Possibly. It’s definitely a homicide but BA is considering it a crime of passion instead of premeditated.”

“Meaning there wouldn’t have been time to plan a difficult body drop.”

“More or less.” Sawamura replied and fell quiet, pensive. There was a silent anger in his shoulders, enough that it gave Iwaizumi pause as he considered his coworker. The case was already over a week old, enough to mean that it was probably headed for the pile- unsolved and unanswered. With this new complication and the unremarkable background of the victim- a 20-something NEET- it was likely to never garner enough heat to be properly handled.

‘ _... aaaah shit._ ’

“Give me a copy of the case files. I can at least look it over.” Iwaizumi’s voice was firm as he set his cup down, meeting Sawamura’s eyes when the other glanced at him with a blink. “I’ll probably come to the same conclusions as you, but it can’t hurt to have an extra opinion.”

For a moment Sawamura was quiet, something unreadable in his expression, before he started chuckling in that quietly amused way of his. Iwaizumi, confused, watched as the man’s hand descended upon the folder he’d placed on his desk.

“What do you think this is?”

A moment… then Iwaizumi laughed, short and abrupt. “Aren’t you supposed to ask for the favor before thanking someone?”

“You ended up asking anyway, so what’s the problem?” Sawamura replied, unrepentant as he straightened and clapped him on the shoulder. “I also came to invite you over. Koushi wants to see you two again, probably to gloat about Karasuno’s victory last week. Make some time for him, okay?” Iwaizumi grimaced.

“They’ll probably end up talking all night again.” He muttered with a rueful glance at the papers piled on top of his desk. “Think I could just send Oikawa?”

“Only if you want to deal with the fallout. Unlike us, jumping prefectures won’t be enough to stop them.” Sawamura responded, perhaps a note too gravely as he shrugged.

“Right, right… Friday?”

“Works for me. Let me know about the station thing.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Iwaizumi muttered, shooing Sawamura away before he dropped into his chair again, wincing as his back gave a painful complaint. Pulling his phone out of his desk drawer, he then began composing a message to Oikawa while considering just how… _typical_ , his life had become. In love with a childhood friend, planning dinner with coworkers, talking about past glory while gloating about the achievements of the generation that had come after…

He smiled, stupidly.

“Iwaizumi-senpaaaai, you have a _really_ indescribable expression right now. Super freaky.”

“Get back to work!” He snapped, grabbing a rubber stress ducky (a gift from Oikawa) and whipping it across the room at Futakuchi who ducked behind his desk with a sharp yelp and a laugh.

 

* * *

 

The message came at 12:17.

Sitting on his nightstand and chirping an obnoxious little ringtone he had set _specifically_ for messages from HQ, his phone was buzzing away loudly with an unanswered text. For a moment, Vaelin simply stared at his phone with sleep dazed eyes, _positive_ he had to be making a dream-addled mistake.

It was the daytime. His watch was telling him so.

They _never_ appeared during the day.

For half a second longer, he ogled his phone in disbelief before abruptly making a hasty grab for it and nearly sending it flying off the nightstand in his panic. With a yelp as he slid off the mattress, he hit the ground hard, bruising an already sore shoulder and cursed- phone safely in his grip. Thus, half-tumbled out of bed and tangled in his sheets, he shoved his bedhead out of his eyes before flipping the phone open, squinting at the blue-light in the darkness of his bedroom, the blackout curtains living up to their name.

 _> > JR SENDAI HOSPITAL_  
_> > SEVERAL B-CLASS_  
_> > ALL AVAILABLE RESPOND_  
_> > PRIORITY CONCEALMENT _

He blinked, the name Sendai pinging his slowly waking mind as he struggled out of his sheets and ended up banging his elbow on the corner of the table.

“God damn-!” He hissed, sitting up and clutching the offended spot as he kicked away his blanket at last and staggered to his feet, still feeling woozy from last night. _Sendai, Sendai… I killed a C-class there last night-_

Last night. Being hurt. Being given blood- _Sousuke_.

JR Sendai Hospital was less than two city blocks from Aoba Jousai.

**_Fuck._ **


	3. Because There Are Things We Still Want To Do.

His phone rang.

Fingers pausing mid-keystroke, his eyes flickered to the screen to check the name. _Unknown number_. Hitting ignore, he went back to typing, adjusting the satellite feed and waiting for his eyes to work. He _really_ didn’t have the time to deal with a telemarketer right now.

As he scrolled the wheel on his mouse, zooming in on a shopping district, he scanned the lagging feed intensely, looking for any kind of-

It rang again. Same number. Persistent.

Leaning back in his chair, he quirked an eyebrow and pursed his lips, an expression of irritation settling over his features. What were the odds a telemarketer would try to continuously call him? He hit ignore again and decided to find out.

Five seconds later, it rang again. Same number.

 _You’ve gotta be kidding me._ He picked up the phone and flicked it open, pressing it to his ear and holding it there with his shoulder as he went back to work.

“Hello?”

“Did you seriously shut me down twice? You are the _worst_ deployer ever.”

“Your number’s not registered… Rhyser?” He replied as his eyes quickly glanced at the list of hunters who had responded to the area-wide emergency message.

“Are you fucking with me? I changed it a _month_ ago. What kind of shitty communication system are we- nevermind. Do you have an update on their locations?”

“You’d have received a message if I did.”

“I need to know if there are any around Aoba Jousai.”

“... that’s an oddly specific area.” He began typing in the coordinates regardless, knowing where this was headed.

“My brother’s in the school right now for a practice match. If they get drawn to him-”

“He can deal with it. Yukimura’s clever enough to how to handle an outbreak.” _Of course there was a practice match today._

“Give me the info I need and he won’t have to.” His fingers hesitated as the feed settled over the grid containing the school and its surrounding areas. He shouldn’t do this, Rhyser was notoriously unpredictable and didn’t give a shit about hunter protocol when it came to his brother. Giving him information that could compromise his performance and their secrecy would be enabling his risk-taking habits.

 _There was a smudge on the map_.

“... one shadow, North by North East.” The map updated, the smudge moved. “Moving into the school grounds.”

“ _Fuck me_ ,” Vaelin swore, picking up the pace from where he was on the street and flat out running now. “Link me the map feed.”

“You’re going to have to pay one hell of a data bill.” But he did it.

“Thanks. Contact me if anything changes.”

“This conversation never happened.” And he hung up.

A few moments passed in silence as he leaned back in his chair and considered what he’d just done. It was a minor infraction, honestly, and as long as Rhyser didn’t blow his cover there was likely to never be any real consequences. _Especially_ not for him… Not when he was one of the few who didn’t have to be on the ground to see their movements.

No, what bothered him was that he’d done it in the first place. Rule breaking was uncharacteristic of him. Even if there was a shadow moving into a high concentration of potentials, he should have sent another hunter- someone who wouldn’t be compromised by their emotions.

Had Rhyser called him _knowing_ he wouldn’t say no? Knowing he’d do just about anything to make sure nobody in that gym got hurt or worse?

He smirked a little, annoyed. _Hunters are literally the most irritating people on the planet._ As he went to shut his phone, his eyes lingered for a moment on a message notification. Finger hovering above the icon, he hesitated, then snapped the phone decisively shut and went back to his screens.

 

* * *

 

_ >> Iwaizumi OK’ed dinner. Friday? _

Sugawara smiled a little as he read the text, tapping his phone against his chin as he considered the proposed dinner date. A Friday was an optimistic night, especially given how busy Daichi and Hajime had been lately. Maybe that was a sign things were settling down for a bit? Or maybe Tooru, like him, had been getting antsy for some attention… The thought made him laugh quietly.

“I’ve become pretty needy, huh?”

“Yup.” His coworker remarked without a moment of hesitation.

“Kyoutani, you’re not supposed to agree when I say something like that” Sugawara gently scolded, inwardly amused as he turned to glance at his friend who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a Mum-Mum sticking out the side of his mouth and a magazine spread across his lap.

“The truth’s the truth. Besides, all you do is yap about Sawamura these days. Even the kids have noticed.” The blonde responded, not even looking up once as he flipped another page- revealing a colorful assortment of children’s mascots. Suga tried desperately not to laugh at how absorbed he seemed.

“Not _all_ the time.” He defended himself after a moment, once he got his urge to chuckle underwraps. Brushing at an imaginary speck of dust on his daycare apron, he then gave a cursory glance into the main room to make sure naptime was still proceeding peacefully. The sight of a dozen small kids snuggled into tiny futons reflexively made him smile.

“Close enough. You should just get married already.”

Looking back at his coworker, Sugawara blinked, then smiled faintly- this time wistfully. “A little hard to do when no one will perform the ceremony.”

“You could visit that kouhai of yours. It’s legal in America.”

“You-” … _have been thinking about this too much…_ Sugawara didn’t know whether to be touched or exasperated. “That’s not something I can suddenly ask out of the blue. Besides, Tsukishima is probably busy with his own-” He paused at a small knock on the door. Blinking, he slid to his feet and walked over to the door, wondering who it could be when they weren’t even tall enough to be viewable through the glass square on the door. Gently sliding it open, he automatically looked down and tried to hide his surprise. “Ryoko-chan?”

She was a small girl of 4, her long brown hair drawn into two neat little pigtails and secured with a pair of flower ties and matching barrettes. Her dress, a pale cornflower blue, was offset by a pair of worn yellow shoes- a favorite as she was always wearing them every time he saw her.

She was also, he was tickled to see, holding a small, clear bag of cookies.

“Ah, is that for Kyoutani-sensei?” He asked quietly, kneeling down to be on eye level with her as Kyoutani automatically stood upright and came over, the magazine left abandoned on the floor. Glancing up, he hesitated when he saw her eyes were bloodshot.

Silently bringing up her hands, she began to gesture at them, fingers curving animatedly as she explained she had meant to bring them last week. Kyoutani, watching her hands, sighed a little in exasperation before he brought his own hands up, signing back at her.

_‘Are you even supposed to be here? Your mom said you were gone all month.’_

Ryoko looked down at that, a little flush of guilt coloring her cheeks as she gripped the small bag a bit tighter, crinkling plastic. Sugawara, watching the silent conversation, placed his hands on his hips and looked disapprovingly at Kyoutani.

“What did you tell her? After she came all this way just for you.”

“She’s not supposed to be here. Her mom’s gonna worry.” Kyoutani muttered, a touch defensively as he glared at Sugawara.

“You have no manners.” Sugawara sighed, holding out his arms and carefully scooping Ryoko up into his arms. “Here we go.” He smiled, turning to face Kyoutani. “Go ahead, Ryoko-chan.”

Embarrassed and ducking her head, she hesitated a moment longer before holding the cookies out. _‘Happy Valentines._

Scowling darkly, Kyoutani reached over and took her from Sugawara with one arm while his other grabbed the cookies. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s go call your mom already.” There was an urgency to his tone that was, decidedly, not all professional concern.

With a pleased smile at the acceptance of her gift, she glanced over Kyoutani’s shoulder at Sugawara who gave her a thumbs up and a wink. As the other marched her out of the room, she quickly signed him a thank you before flinching as the blonde reached up and gently pinched her nose.

“Stop scheming with that guy. He’s gonna turn you into a bad person.”

“Ryoko-chan, remind him that he has to get you something for White Day now.” Sugawara whisper-called as they walked down the hallway, causing Kyoutani’s face to darken with exasperation. An emotion that grew tenfold when she looked at him with shining eyes of hope.

“Not a chance, you’ll get cavities.” He growled, stumbling as she responded enthusiastically in front of his face.

 _‘I won’t! I promise! I’ll brush my teeth!’_ Her only response was an annoyed, unintelligible grumble, to which she only signed faster. _‘I’ll eat all my vegetables! I’ll drink my milk too!’_

“Would you _stop_ that? I can’t see.”

_‘Please?’_

“Ugh.”

Knowing that was as good as a yes, she enthusiastically threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking them into a wall.

Leaning against the doorframe and watching them go, Sugawara folded his arms and grinned sheepishly. He really wasn’t going to hear the end of this for at least a week… But on the other hand, the idea of watching Kyoutani try to come up with an appropriate gift for a 4 year old child on White Day…

He flipped open his phone and went to his messages. Oikawa would be thrilled to hear about this.

 

* * *

 

He had… a terrible headache.

“Takahashi is still fumbling his run up.” Yahaba commented, making a note in his tablet as his eyes followed the match.

“He’s a first year, practice will change that over time.” Oikawa remarked, keeping his voice perfectly pleasant as he folded his arms, his concentration strained by the fierce pounding in his temples. He’d been having them a lot more recently, perhaps a result of late nights and something else. Age? It was hard to say, though he’d never had a problem with headaches before. “He’s been getting along well with Sakai lately, hasn’t he? Let’s try pairing them together.” He added offhand, glancing at their first year setter standing on the sidelines.

“You’re not worried about a close relationship affecting their ability to synch?”

“Hmm… no, not at all.” Oikawa replied, giving a little hum. “Takahashi is the straightforward type and fairly charming. He might make a good ace or captain in the future.”

“... you and Iwaizumi-san aren’t having problems, are you?”

“ _Why would you ask that right now, of all times!?_ ” Oikawa squawked indignantly, glaring at his kouhai.

“Well, he is your type.” Yahaba remarked a little too innocently and hid a laugh behind his tablet when Oikawa blustered at him, waving his arms angrily.

“It is _not_ a type! Iwa-chan is just-”

“Yes, yes. It was just a joke, Oikawa-san, please don’t take it serious- are you alright?” He paused, noticing Oikawa’s abrupt wince as the pain in his head spiked sharply.

Sousuke, mid-spike, froze as he saw a dark shadow creep in through the open doors of the gymnasium and missed the ball, causing it to sail harmlessly overhead and out of bounds.

“Yuki?” Hirai questioned, watching him with concern as the referee blew his whistle, issuing a much needed point to Oomisaki. Hell, he could have issued 20 of them right now and Sousuke wouldn’t have given a damn. What the _fuck_ was a shadow doing here in the middle of the day!?

“I… uh… sorry, I need a minute. I suddenly felt really dizzy.” He said, tearing his eyes away from the creature to look at Hirai with a forced smile. Something the setter immediately frowned at. “I’m gonna swap with Yamada for a bit.” He added with an apologetic nod before trying to signal the coaches for a timeout.

Less than 12 feet away, the shadow shuffled about, clawing at its head and screeching an angry cry that only Sousuke could hear, mad with pain as any shadow caught in their world during the day would be.

 _‘6 clawed paws, whip-like tail, strong jaw… damn thing is probably an A. Maybe a B at worst.’_ He thought, biting his lower lip and looking at it only from the corner of his eye as he waited for the whistle to blow. 5 seconds later, when it didn’t, he glanced back at Oikawa and Yahaba with some impatience, and froze when he saw the latter helping the other who was almost bent double and clutching his head.

‘ _Oh shit…’_ His eyes went back to the shadow, still shuffling about and recoiling from the solid walls like they burnt. ‘ _Don’t see me, don’t see me, don’t see me…’_ He begged silently, shifting back and ignoring Hirai who was looking at him with real concern now. If it saw him, if it saw his sight past everything else... it would attack and his cover would be blown.

“Yuki?” Hirai reached for him just as the shadow paused and turned, red eyes settling directly on Sousuke.

And then he heard it, the sound of a window breaking as something hard and metallic crashed through glass and hit the ground with a solid bounce. Eyes tracking its movements, he had a split second to recognize what it was before clapping his hands over his ears and shutting his eyes. The stun grenade went off a moment later, causing screams and yells of surprise to erupt around him as everyone suffered the full effects of the blinding flash and deafening bang.

There was only one bastard who’d have the guts to throw a fucking _flash bang_ into a gymnasium full of civilians…

Vaelin followed the grenade a moment later, shattering the glass even further as he crashed through the window with his arms up to protect his face from the shards. Hitting the ground with a solid thump, boots scuffing the gymnasium floor, he rolled with the momentum and leap-frogged over one of Oomisaki’s dazed players to avoid full on colliding with him before darting forward, a blazing sword arcing in front of him.

Ears ringing, Sousuke quickly lowered his arms and dodged Furutani who nearly crashed into him, already moving forward to assist. The flash bang had aggravated the shadow even further, causing it to whip its head back and forth, clawing at its eyes and ears while screeching in blinded rage.

Taking advantage of its crippled state, Vaelin dodged one wild slash of its claws before swinging down in a brutal cut at the creature’s neck. What should have been a swift beheading of the monster, however, immediately turned into a violent frenzy as the shadow’s body rippled like disturbed water before flaring a wall of spikes directly at its attacker in defense. Several sharp lines punctured Vaelin through his thigh, torso and arm as he yanked the sword back and stumbled away, barely dodging a second wild clawing as he swore.

“Vae!” Sousuke yelled, bringing up his hand to attack and freezing when Vae glared at him, bright red eyes radiant in the sunlight.

“It’s _concealment_!” His brother snapped, dragging a hand up to the hole in his arm and exhaling as the shadow thrashed, unable to see them properly. “Which means all _civilians_ -” He waited until it had turned its head before darting in again, drops of blood speckling the gym floor, “get to park-” He swung down, sword slamming another solid blow into its neck before he darted back, swiftly avoiding the deadly skewer he knew to anticipate now, “their asses!”

“What part of bleeding all over the place is concealment?” Sousuke demanded, ducking under the net and raising his hands. Immediately his fingertips began to trail light as he wove his hands through the air, focusing on a gentle thrumming in the room only he could feel.

“ _Christ,_ ” Vaelin muttered, resigned. “Not my fault if you get found out.” He snapped then, shifting from hit-and-runs to playing decoy as the concentration of light snagged the shadow’s eyes. As it turned to face Sousuke, the swordsman dashed forward, kicking off the ground and sailing over the creature while hitting it with the broad side of his blade. With a roar, as though it had been branded, the shadow rounded on Vaelin, who had already darted left to strike at its face. As it chased him, Sousuke took advantage of its distracted state to finish his conjuration.

As if woven by the movements of his hands, water rippled into existence and bended towards his fingers, gathering into a needle like shape. Drawing the needle into the center of his palm, he then used his other hand, fingers hovering over the shape, and _pulled_ , almost like an archer drawing the string of a bow. The needle lengthened with the motion, growing to about a foot in length, before solidifying. He then curved his hands around the spear, aligning one arm beneath it while the other hovered above, palm flat and thumb nearly brushing his cheek. In a flash, the blade of water frosted instantly into ice, tip shining brightly in the light.

“Now!” He yelled before swiping forward with his palm. As if launched with the motion, the blade shot forward. At his warning, Vaelin ducked a final swipe before slapping the ground with his palm and backflipping out of the way. As the lance collided with the shadow, the creature froze for a moment, motionless… and then exploded into a cloud of snow.

For a moment, everything was quiet, punctuated only by the moaning and swearing of the teenagers in the gym… then, abruptly, Vaelin dashed across the room to grab the remains of the flash bang while Sousuke whipped his hand up, seizing the snowflakes in the air before jerking his fingers downward, commanding the ice to become water. With a splash, it slopped over the floor where Vaelin had bled. Immediately the water slid across the ground, diluting the dark spots of red before making them vanish altogether.

He didn’t even have to ask if Vaelin’s wounds had healed already.

“Only a 4 point difference?” With those parting words of teasing, Vaelin ducked out of the gym.

The entire fight had lasted just under a minute.

Short, efficient work… but so risky. If concealment was the priority, Vaelin had risked a lot to take on a shadow in a room full of civilians. Even using a flash bang, if just one person had seen them fighting a creature most normal people couldn’t even _perceive_ , much less understand… well, it didn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion they’d be labeled as psychotic.

Still, the fact that Vaelin had deliberately taken that risk _specifically_ for him…  

He struggled to hide a fond smile as he ducked back under the net and wiped his hands on his shorts before checking to see if anyone had noticed. As his hands went out to steady Hirai who was stumbling around, balance still thrown off by the flashbang, he made one last cursory glance around the gym-

And locked eyes with Oikawa Tooru.

Who was looking directly at him. Mouth agape.

… _Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mum-Mums are a baby cracker. My niece eats them! o/


End file.
